Black Wolf Press is a letterpress printing outfit specializing in business and social stationery, invitations, limited edition prints and other paper ephemera, with every piece printed by hand on an antique press. Black Wolf Press is owned and operated out of a musty garage by Ben Pham in Orange County, CA Seattle, WA.
What is letterpress?
Printing from a hard, raised image under pressure, using viscous ink. That’s the short answer. Let’s try a more detailed answer, albeit still pretty short. Letterpress is an old, laborious printing process that involves locking movable type or a printing plate into the bed of a press, applying ink to the image, and rolling or pressing paper against it to form an impression one color at a time. The technique has been in use since the 15th century, most notably by Johannes Gutenberg to manufacture the Gutenberg Bible. Letterpress remained the standard method of printing for hundreds of years until it was replaced by offset printing in the 1950s. Today, letterpress is reserved for fine craft printing and special occasions where impression is a sought-after quality.
The ordering process
Step 1: Consult
Contact us and we’ll iron out what you need and send you a price quote based on your project specifications. A 50% deposit will be required to initiate the project.
Step 2: Proof
Once we receive your deposit, we will begin laying out your designs and send you digital proofs which you will review to make sure all content is correct.
Step 3: Print
After the the proofs are approved, printing plates for your project will be made and your project will be printed.
Step 4: Ship
Once your project is finished printing and the remaining balance is paid, we will pack up the printed goods and ship it to you.